Common-base amplifier circuits have long been recognized for their ability to deliver higher frequency response, higher collector voltage swings, and higher linearity than do their common-emitter counterparts under identical conditions of bias and loading for the same transistor device. Common-base amplifiers are readily adaptable to wide-band RF applications from HF, through VHF, and well into the UHF region of frequencies, and are easily designed with a minimum of effort devoted to input and output matching networks. In addition, common-base amplifiers achieve a higher degree of reverse isolation than do their common-emitter counterparts, thus leading to a greater degree of stability. All of these factors are desirable characteristics in amplifier design. In a conventional common-base amplifier, as shown in FIG. 1, the input resistance is the sum of a fixed resistance and the nonlinear emitter resistance of the transistor, the latter of which is a primary cause of both harmonic and intermodulation distortion. Traditional design techniques reduce this nonlinearity either directly by increasing the fixed input resistance or indirectly by decreasing the nonlinear emitter resistance by increasing the transistor bias current. The former technique is unsuitable for power amplifier applications, and the latter technique reduces the overall power efficiency of the amplifier.